ExxonMobil posted record annual profits in 2022 as Americans struggled with high prices for gasoline, home heating, and consumer goods. The oil giant brought in $12.75 billion in profits in the fourth quarter, bringing annual net income to $55.7 billion. That exceeds Exxon's previous record of $45.22 billion in 2008, when a barrel of oil soared close to $150, the AP reports. Revenue was $95.43 billion. Recovering demand and tight energy supplies helped boost profit, the Irving, Texas, company said. "While our results clearly benefited from a favorable market, the counter-cyclical investments we made before and during the pandemic provided the energy and products people needed as economies began recovering and supplies became tight" said CEO Darren Woods. "We leaned in when others leaned out."
Exxon achieved its best-ever annual refining throughput in North America and the highest globally since 2012, the company said. It mechanically completed the expansion of its Beaumont Refinery in Texas and expects to bring 250,000 barrels per day of crude oil distillation capacity to the market in first quarter of this year. Much of the nation's refining capacity taken offline during the pandemic has yet to return, which drove refining margins higher Woods said during a conference call with investors. "We’ve continued to strengthen our industry-leading portfolio and increased production from high-return, advantaged assets in Guyana and the Permian, at a time when the world needed it most," Woods said.
The price of oil ranged between $70 to $90 for a barrel of US benchmark crude during the quarter. The price of oil ranged between $70 to $90 for a barrel of US benchmark crude during the quarter. Domestic natural gas prices, which affect the cost of home energy and electricity, ranged from $6 to $7 per million BTUs during the quarter, according to FactSet.
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Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Russia’s decreased its supply of natural gas to Europe, which resulted in higher prices of natural gas and its liquid counterpart, LNG, on the global market. President Joe Biden has accused oil companies of profiting from the war and has raised the possibility of a war profit tax on oil companies. Exxon said it incurred $1.3 billion during the quarter associated with European taxes on the energy sector and asset impairments. The European Union imposed a windfall tax on energy companies last fall, and Exxon filed a lawsuit challenging the tax in December.
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